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Lean ManufacturingThe 5S

Focus on Flow Streamlines 5S

Avatar photo By Jon Miller Updated on March 23rd, 2023

At the core of Lean Enterprise Transformation are the fundamental principles of customer focus, getting rid of the 7 wastes and creating flow. What follows is the alphabet soup of Lean tools in order to achieve this, including but not limited to 5S, TPM, 3P, QFD, SMED, JIT, VSM, etc.

Using a 5S Program as an Effective Tool in the WorkPlace

This alphabet soup can be bewildering, but fortunately, most Lean practitioners agree on starting with 5S. Many companies start 5S programs by red tagging to get rid of unnecessary items (1st S: Sort), followed by setting things in the right place at the point of use (2nd S: Straighten), and continue by cleaning and eliminating the source of filth (3rd S: Sweep). The 4th and 5th steps are Standardize and Self-Discipline, which create standards and sustain a well-organized workplace.

The Importance of Focusing on Flow

When 5S is done without a focus on flow, you can actually create waste by doing work that is unnecessary. Take the example of an aerospace company that started its 5S program in the machine shop. Convinced that they were not ready for one-piece flow, they trained the machinists and inspectors in 5S and began red tagging and straightening. Although their intention was good, their Sorting was less than effective because they were doing batch and queue. They did not include in the “unnecessary items category” for many tools they shared, large tables for storage of WIP, personalized work benches, large tool boxes, and many pallet jacks for moving WIP from station to station. These things would be unnecessary after doing some simple things with flow. Instead, they mostly threw out trash, broken tools, etc.

Challenges with Defining “Point of Use” in 5S Implementation

In addition, the definition of “point of use” was very loose. Since many tools were shared, the machine or workstation where a particular process was performed, was not well defined (no cells were in place) and tools were often the property of individuals. Most tools placed at the “point of use” were consequently four or five feet away at a shadow board instead of on or in the machine, literally inches away from the point of use.

The Importance of Setup Reduction (SMED) in Improving Flow and Workplace Organization

A first attempt at flow would have identified the need for setup reduction (SMED). This would have made the need for “point of use” and dedicated tools much clearer. In addition, by reducing set-up times and cutting down lot sizes, WIP would have been reduced drastically and the pallets, storage space, and inspection tables would have been red-tagged.

The Importance of Lean Thinking in Defining “Unnecessary Items” and Workplace Organization

Although there is probably no harm in proceeding with a 5S program before attempting flow, the definitions of “unnecessary items”, Sorting, “point of use”, and Straightening take on a much different meaning the closer to Lean (one-piece flow) you are.


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